Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn, joined by Minister of the Environment John Baird, announced last week in Ottawa, ON that Canada’s new government is taking “another important step” to protect the environment and the health of Canadians by introducing national standards for lighting efficiency to come into force by 2012. The standards include the banning of all inefficient incandescent light bulbs.

The banning of inefficient light bulbs is only the first step in a broader energy plan aimed at bringing greenhouse gas emissions in Canada 20% below current levels by 2020 (see related story).

“Making the switch to more efficient lighting is one of the easiest and most effective things we can do to reduce energy use and harmful emissions,” said Lunn. “The introduction of these standards will lead to a strong national policy for lighting efficiency to complement actions taken by provinces and territories.”

Following in Australia’s footsteps, which announced in February that it would get rid of all incandescent bulbs by 2009, Canada is the second country to introduce such standards. Jumping the gun on the national announcement by a week, Ontario government officials announced last week that the province is banning the sale of inefficient light bulbs by 2012 and launching five provincewide conservation initiatives as part of an effort to build “a conservation culture.” In the United States, California has seen a similar initiative.

“Canada’s new government is serious about tackling climate change, but we can’t do it alone,” said Baird. “Using more energy-efficient light bulbs is a great example of a concrete action Canadians can take at home to help reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions and save energy.”

The government officials explained that the national standards for lighting efficiency will be implemented through existing mechanisms, including the regulations of Canada’s Energy Efficiency Act. Canada is proposing an approach that involves stakeholders such as provincial and territorial governments, electric utilities, manufacturers and distributors that will result in the definition of a standard by the end of 2007, including timelines so that low-efficiency lighting would be eliminated by 2012. Because the lighting market is global in scope and other jurisdictions are contemplating similar measures, Canada’s government said its objective is to ensure that efforts are harmonized with those of its trading partners.

“The environmental benefits are clear. By banning inefficient lighting, we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by more than 6 million tons per year,” added Lunn. “More than that, these new standards will help reduce the average household electricity bill by approximately $50 a year [Canadian].”

Already-available replacements for incandescent bulbs include compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL), high-efficiency halogen bulbs, light-emitting diodes and others that produce the same amount of light while consuming less energy. Citing data, the Canadian government found that ENERGYSTAR-qualified compact fluorescent bulbs, for example, use only about one-quarter as much electricity as a conventional light bulb to produce the same amount of light. Although they do cost a bit more, CFLs can last up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb, paying for themselves many times over in energy savings and convenience, the government said.

It has been estimated that if every Canadian replaced just one of the most used incandescent light bulbs in their home with an ENERGYSTAR-qualified CFL, the energy savings would amount to more than C$73 million, and emissions of greenhouse gases would be reduced by 400,000 tons.

The ban on inefficient bulbs will include allowances for applications where incandescents are still the only practical alternative, such as in some medical lighting situations, oven lights and others.

Data compiled by the government found that more than 10% of the energy consumed in Canadian homes is used to provide light, and most of it is produced by the incandescent light bulb, which was developed in the nineteenth century, and the technology behind it has changed very little over the past 100 years.

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